Mixed Martial Arts, Bullying, and Sociolegal Quandaries Sara Ross
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Osgoode Hall Law School of York University Osgoode Digital Commons Research Papers, Working Papers, Conference Osgoode Legal Studies Research Paper Series Papers 2014 Effective Aggressiveness and Inconsistencies in the Bijuridical Treatment of Aggressive Behaviour: Mixed Martial Arts, Bullying, and Sociolegal Quandaries Sara Ross Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.osgoode.yorku.ca/olsrps Recommended Citation Ross, Sara, "Effective Aggressiveness and Inconsistencies in the Bijuridical Treatment of Aggressive Behaviour: Mixed Martial Arts, Bullying, and Sociolegal Quandaries" (2014). Osgoode Legal Studies Research Paper Series. 16. http://digitalcommons.osgoode.yorku.ca/olsrps/16 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Research Papers, Working Papers, Conference Papers at Osgoode Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Osgoode Legal Studies Research Paper Series by an authorized administrator of Osgoode Digital Commons. OSGOODE HALL LAW SCHOOL LEGAL STUDIES RESEARCH PAPER SERIES Research Paper No. 61 Vol. 10/ Issue. 14/ (2014) Effective Aggressiveness and Inconsistencies in the Bijuridical Treatment of Aggressive Behaviour: Mixed Martial Arts, Bullying, and Sociolegal Quandaries Sara Ross Editors: Editor-in-Chief: Carys J. Craig (Associate Dean of Research & Institutional Relations and Associate Professor, Osgoode Hall Law School, York University, Toronto) Production Editor: James Singh (Osgoode Hall Law School, York University, Toronto) This paper can be downloaded free of charge from: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2495209 Further information and a collection of publications from the Osgoode Hall Law School Legal Studies Research Paper Series can be found at: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/JELJOUR_Results.cfm?form_name=journalbrowse&journal_id=722488 Osgoode Legal Studies Research Paper No. 61 Vol. 10/ Issue. 14/ (2014) Effective Aggressiveness and Inconsistencies in the Bijuridical Treatment of Aggressive Behaviour: Mixed Martial Arts, Bullying, and Sociolegal Quandaries Sara Ross Abstract: This paper seeks to address effective aggressiveness and the treatment of aggressive behaviour in the context of MMA in comparison to the balance of the formal Canadian legal landscape. I choose anti-bullying legislation, and its treatment of aggressive behaviour, as a counterexample to the treatment of aggressive behaviour within the MMA regulatory framework. By intertextually linking and superimposing these two categories of legislation, a critical lens drawing on institutional ethnography is applied in order to question and deconstruct the differential treatment of aggressive behaviour and the rationale behind the legislative mixed message sent. The quandary faced within the fabric of the MMA community regarding its own treatment of aggressive behaviour, where it is both reified as well as castigated through anti-bullying advocacy, will also be examined. Keywords: MMA, Mixed Martial Arts, Bullying, Aggressiveness, Federal law, Ethnography Author(s): Sara Ross Osgoode Hall Law School York University, Toronto E: [email protected] EFFECTIVE AGGRESSIVENESS AND INCONSISTENCIES IN THE BIJURIDICAL TREATMENT OF AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOUR: MIXED MARTIAL ARTS, BULLYING, AND SOCIOLEGAL QUANDARIES Sara Gwendolyn Ross One of the most legally restricted elements of human nature is that of aggression and the intent to harm. Yet in combat sports such as mixed-martial arts (“MMA”) or boxing, one of the key elements in judging a fighter’s performance to determine a winner is “effective aggressiveness”.1 This paper seeks to address effective aggressiveness and the treatment of aggressive behaviour in the context of MMA in comparison to the balance of the formal Canadian legal landscape. I choose anti-bullying legislation, and its treatment of aggressive behaviour, as a counterexample to the treatment of aggressive behaviour within the MMA regulatory framework. By intertextually linking and superimposing these two categories of legislation, a critical lens drawing on institutional ethnography is applied in order to question and deconstruct the differential treatment of aggressive behaviour and the rationale behind the legislative mixed message sent.2 The quandary faced within the fabric of the MMA community regarding its own treatment of aggressive behaviour, where it is both reified as well as castigated through anti- bullying advocacy, will also be examined. 1 MMA used to be characterized by the pitting of various styles of martial arts against each other in order to determine the dominant form. Its current practice now focuses on the dominant fighter where each fighter deploys an individually hybridized fighting technique drawing on various martial arts. See e.g. Dale C Spencer, Ultimate Fighting and Embodiment: Violence, Gender, and Mixed Martial Arts (New York: Routledge, 2012) at 74-75 [Spencer, Ultimate]. 2 I draw on this methodology to consider the implicated regulatory texts, the narratives of MMA community members, and the interactions between the two. See Dorothy Smith, ed, Institutional Ethnography as Practice (Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2006). See especially ibid, figure 4.5 at 85. See also Marie Campbell & Frances Gregor, Mapping Social Relations (Aurora: Garamond Press, 2002). 1 I. THE MECHANICS OF REGULATION In Canada the regulation of MMA is delegated, depending on the province in question, to the provincial or municipal body or agency—usually the athletic commission—responsible for overseeing athletics-related policy.3 A) THE UNIFIED RULES OF MIXED MARTIAL ARTS The Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts (“Unified Rules”), first codified by the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board in 2000 and adopted in April 2001,4 address the mechanics of a match and fighter safety precautions.5 They grew out of the efforts of the United Fighting Championship (“UFC”) and other MMA event promoters to develop and apply an internal set of rules in order to respond to concerns regarding the health and safety of MMA participants.6 Nevada's MMA rules and regulations, which incorporate the Unified Rules, are usually the model followed by most jurisdictions. As such, when a jurisdiction lists that they are adopting the Nevada regulatory model, it is implicit that the Unified Rules are also implemented into the regulatory scheme.7 B) DECRIMINALIZATION 3 See also Jordan T Smith, “Fighting for Regulation: Mixed Martial Arts Legislation in the United States” (2010) 58:2 Drake L Rev 617 at 625. Municipal MMA regulation occurs in Alberta: see e.g. the Edmonton or Calgary Combative Sports Commission. 4 See “Unified Rules and other MMA Regulations”, online: Discover UFC <http://www.ufc.com/discover/sport/rules-and-regulations>. And see the official version: Agency Proposal, Mixed Martial Arts Unified Rules of Conduct, NJ ADMIN CODE § 13:46-24A, online: New Jersey State Athletic Control Board <http://www.state.nj.us/lps/sacb/docs/martial.html> [Unified Rules]. 5 See ibid. See also Smith, supra note 3 at 634. 6 Ibid at 626-28. For the American implementation of the Unified Rules, see ibid at 627-28. 7 For a discussion of the reasons behind the popularity of the Nevada regulations as model, see ibid at 631. 2 The recent decriminalization of MMA has altered the regulatory landscape in Canada. While MMA events have been held in Canada for quite a while, their legal status was ambiguous due to the prize fighting provisions in the Criminal Code.8 Section 83 used to prohibit combative sporting competitions if they fell under the Section 83(2) definition of “prize-fight”.9 MMA theoretically fell under this definition.10 There were, however, two exceptions to this prohibition: (1) amateur boxing events; and (2) any boxing event sanctioned by a province’s designated athletics-related regulatory body, or any bout where the boxing gloves worn by fighters were not less 140 grams.11 A pervasive uncertainty existed throughout the country as to whether or not MMA fell under the exception or not, and it was ultimately left open to the interpretation of each province. As such, while Section 83 of the Criminal Code theoretically “prohibited” MMA events, it was nonetheless possible for provinces to sanction MMA events if the prize-fighting exceptions were interpreted in such a way as to include MMA.12 Ontario, for example, lifted its ban on MMA events in 2010 for a number of reasons including the projected lucrative financial benefits linked to the growing popularity of MMA in Canada. The Ontario government predicted that around 30,000 people could be attracted to an MMA event—which, it proposed, would generate approximately $6 million in associated economic activity within Ontario.13 In addition to these reasons for the decision to remove the ban, the grassroots quest for legitimacy sought by the MMA community/cultural normative system through the absorption 8 Criminal Code, RSC 1985, c C-46 s 83. 9 Ibid, s 83(1). 10 See also Layth H Gafoor, Paul Waldron & Hashim Ghazi, “Fighting for Certainty: The Legality of Mixed Martial in Canada”, Just (June 2013) at 38-39 online: Just <http://www.justmag.ca>. 11 Criminal Code, supra note 8, s 83. See also Gafoor, Waldron & Ghazi, supra note 10. 12 See also ibid at 40-41. 13 Ibid at 40-41. See also Elaine Wiltshire, “Ontario legalizes mixed martial arts” (October 2010) 30:22 Lawyer’s Weekly 14; Miles Adam Park, “In the Octagon: Mixed Martial Arts Comes to Life” in Danielle S Coombs & Bob Batchelor, eds, American History Through American Sports: From Colonial Lacrosse to Extreme